Wire stretcher



April 18, 1950 B. SMITH 2,504,599

WIRE STRETCHER Filed June 21, 1945 5 26 5W2 sm'zz ATTD RN EYS Patented Apr. 18, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WIRE STRETCHER Burl Smith, Shively, W. Va.

Application June 21, 1945, Serial No. 600,819

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a wire stretcher.

An object of the invention is to provide a device that will enable one man to stretch wire and then hold the wire in place while it is being nailed.

Other objects and advantages more or less auxiliary to the foregoing and the manner in which this or other objects are realized will appear in the following description which considered in connection with the accompanying drawing sets forth one of the preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the device in operation.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view, partly broken away with the hook member removed.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more in detail to the drawing the device is designated generally by the numeral It].

The device comprises a puller i2 having a handle portion 14 and a fork portion it, one end of the handle portion I4 forms an eye l8 which is adapted to receive the eye 20 of a brace 22.

The grapple or hook member 22 comprises an arcuate portion 24 which is adapted to conform to and grip a post A by means of its shape and inwardly directed barbs or teeth 28.

The fork portion [6 merges into opposed coils 30 which extend outwardly to form inclined legs 32. The legs 32 being provided at their respective ends with diverging pointed toes 34.

When the device is to be used, it is placed in position as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 and the wire B is placed in the bight 36 of the fork portion l6 intermediate of the opposed coils 30.

The wire B is inserted in the bight 36 of the fork portion l6 when the device is in the position shown in dotted lines at the bottom of Fig. 1. Then by swinging the handle portion l4 into position as shown in full lines in Fig. 1 the wire B is tightened, then the grapple or hook member 22 is moved from its position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 to engage the post as shown in full lines in the same figure and the barbs or teeth 28 bite into the post and hold the stretched wire in position while it is being nailed to the post.

It will be seen, therefore, by those skilled in the art that a device has been provided that will enable one man to stretch and nail the wire by the simple process explained.

It requires the use of only one post and eliminates the use of old type wire stretchers that in- 2 corporated in their structure chains, ropes, blocks and other necessary equipment needed to stretch and hold the wire in position until it was nailed to the post.

Therefore, although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character in order that an illustrative manner of the invention and its operation would be completely set forth, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining and that various re-arrangements of parts and modifications of detail may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured. by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a handle portion, an eye formation on one end of said handle portion, a fork on said handle portion adjacent the end having the eye formation thereon, opposed coils formed by the extension of said fork portion from the bight of said fork portion, outwardly inclined legs formed by the extension of said coils, outwardly inclined toes on the ends of said legs, a movable grapple or hook member, an eye on one end of said last said member adapted to link the eye on said handle portion and said toes adapted to hold the legs on a post while the wire placed in the bight of the fork portion is being stretched and said grapple or hook member is adapted to hold said device in the wire-tensioned position with the wire against the post.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said grapple or hook member is formed of an arcuate portion having teeth adapted to be embedded in a post, whereby said grapple or hook member is adapted to conform to said post and hold said wire in stretched position.

BURL SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Nunziber Name Date 379,669 Warren Mar. 20, 1888 527,008 Wilber Oct. 2, 1894 682,604 Dickey Sept. v17, 1901 759,974 Durall May 117, 1904 1,555,367 Hall Sept. 29, 1925 

